AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)10/06 Report--

On October 6th, General Motors announced that Switzerland would begin taking orders for Cadillac Lyriq and would open an "experience center" in Zurich to handle all customer orders, with delivery expected to begin in the first half of 2024. GM is scheduled to introduce the model to Sweden, France and three other European countries over the next two years, and plans to expand its product line to other models and even other brands in the future.

It is understood that the Cadillac Lyriq positioning medium and large pure electric SUV, based on the Ortenon platform, will compete with Mercedes-Benz EQs SUV, BMW IX and Tesla Model X. the price is 82000 Swiss francs, and its price has a certain competitive advantage. The most entry-level BMW iX starts at 95900 Swiss francs, while Mercedes-Benz EQs SUV starts at 138600 Swiss francs. From a brand point of view, the height of BMW and Mercedes-Benz is unmatched by Cadillac, and its lower price is, of course, a reflection of the gap between Cadillac and its competitors.

GM announced its withdrawal from the European market in 2017 after nearly 90 years of operating in Europe, the Detroit Freedom reported. On July 31st, GM sold the European assets of German car brand Opel, British car brand Vauxhall and General Motors to PSA for about $2.2 billion. Opel and Vauxhall had been losing money for years. On October 31, 2017, GM sold its European financing subsidiaries and brands and announced its withdrawal from the European market.

However, in GM's view, it has not completely left the European market, even with the sale of Opel and Vauxhall. It is understood that GM still retains its headquarters in Zurich after the sale of Opel and sells Cadillac, Chevrolet Corvette and Comero in small quantities in Europe. Of course, the entire European market has had little impact on GM.

With the advent of the era of electrification, GM also began to plan to return to Europe. Back in 2020, GM CEO Marie Barra publicly revealed that the transition to electrification could open up a new path for GM in Europe.

Starting in 2021, GM's plans to relocate the European market began to emerge. In November 2021, GM appointed Cadillac sales executive Mahmoud Samara as president and managing director of GM's European operations. In May 2022, a spokesman for General Motors Europe said that the company would release more details of its European operations in the future and prepare for matters related to restarting the European market.

According to the plan, GM plans to achieve zero emissions for all new light vehicles by 2035 and "carbon neutrality" for global products and operations by 2040. In the 2021 Sustainability report, GM has implemented a number of plans, including "more than 1 million electric vehicles in North America and China by 2025," and GM's first Factory ZERO plant specializing in the production of "zero-emission" pure electric vehicles was officially put into operation in 2021.

In addition, GM plans to invest about $750 million in expanding charging infrastructure in North American commercial and residential housing and public areas by 2025. General Motors will integrate charging networks, mobile applications and other products and services to optimize customers' experience of owning and using electric cars. At the same time, GM has set up a $50 million climate equity promotion fund to address equity issues faced by communities around the world under climate change.

While restarting the European market will help GM expand its electric business, it will not be easy to gain a foothold in the European market, and now electric car brands around the world are looking at Europe. Europe not only has the largest number of high-end and luxury car brands, but also attracted a small number of Chinese manufacturers who want to enter the electric car market, making it one of the most competitive regions in the world. In addition, in the luxury brand segment where Cadillac is located, brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW are stepping up the launch of new pure electric cars. In the mainstream electric car market, Volkswagen, Ford and even the Opel brand that originally belonged to GM also have a layout on pure electric products, and for GM, there will be a scuffle.

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